Broken Arrow 18 July 2023 - the Show, not the Accident (nor the Movie)

[KVG_DC]

3 minutes ago, Chief Guns said:

That 2000 BD show Methods Of Madness was sick! The visual in the opener was ridiculous! No one moves like BD. 

If only their percussion was up to par that summer (not to mention the finals night debacle)

Oh right. The Hitchcock show and the drummer running on and everyone around me going “what is going on with that drummer?”  Honestly though it didn’t stick in my mind. 

[skywhopper]

15 hours ago, jasgre2000 said:

Crown third in brass, BD 1st and BAC 2nd

I was at the show last night after taking a break of a few years from DCI (since 2015). Overall impressions:

Music performance quality was incredible across the board. I realize these corps were all top 10-12 contenders, but compared to my memory of 8-12 years ago, the music is really in a great place for this point in the season. That said, I didn't recognize most of the music, either because it was a mashup of a lot of obscure pieces or because the arrangements were a lot more manipulated to check off all the required music achievement for the judges.

Visual on the other hand was a little sloppy from most of the corps. It was windy as heck so I'd give the guard some leeway on drops etc. But drill was not as clean as I would have expected from this tier. Non-drill visual was all really great. I like how things have evolved in that area.

I thought it was interesting that other than Cadets and Blue Devils, the corps' visual identities have completely gone away in favor of matching the show theme. Not sure how I feel about that... but mostly it didn't bother me, except when I had to triple check the lineup to remember which corps was coming on the field.

I was thrilled to see that for the most part the electronics, sampling, and amplification have gotten under control, with a couple of glaring exceptions.

Specific thoughts on the shows (I didn't take notes and hadn't seen the shows before last night so I don't have a lot of deep thoughts here):

Was really disappointed that Phantom didn't perform. Not sure what happened with the last minute cancellation. I hope the corps members are all okay. The heat was brutal earlier in the day (although by the time the show started it was almost pleasant).

Blue Stars had some of the best prop work. I was skeptical when I saw them rolling out, but they used everything well and it rarely felt cluttered. The big tubes were the most interesting. Loved the gradual uniform changes. Overall I was really impressed.

I have a huge soft spot for Carolina Crown, and I liked their show well enough, but nothing about it really popped. The round table props were interesting but didn't really get used for anything interesting that I remember. Music was fine, but nothing was particularly recognizable, and the constant minor key got a little old. Not sure if I missed the Crown drill set or if they aren't doing that anymore... Oh, and as a horn player the French horn features got me excited, but unfortunately they didn't really give the soloist anything interesting to play. The member played their part beautifully, but if you're featuring a horn on the field for a King Arthur show, maybe show off what a horn can do.

Cadets were interesting. I liked a lot of things about their show. Despite the athleisure style uniform, the Cadets identity shone through. The props were fun, although I wish they'd found more uses for them. The calisthenic visuals were really great; I wish there'd been more exploration of that because it felt pretty unique. I was hoping all the curved metal pieces were going to get assembled into a sphere at some point, and was disappointed that it didn't happen. But I did like how they used that equipment anyway.

Bluecoats were my least favorite show by a long shot. Extended spoken word audio samples are one of my least favorite design choices, and it was just painful to sit through that entire poem, and then have it repeated back in snippets at us throughout the show. I'll never understand the appeal of that sort of thing. A short spoken-word clip to set the scene can be done well, but extended samples are just painful. Let your members show us what *they* can do.

Anyway, sorry about that. As for the show itself, the visual design and props mostly just felt noisy to me. The big house thing was used in some interesting ways later, but the tarps and the other scenery just felt in the way. The guard executed really well, and when they played, the brass sounded fantastic, but... it sure felt like the brass played very little during this show, and often when they did it was overlaid with the audio samples or loud electronics. So loud that when the brass was playing by themselves, they sounded quiet. Also, while there were lots of great sounding brass solos, between the amplification of the soloists and the chaotic visual design, half the time I couldn't ever visually locate the soloists on the field, which is a real shame, IMO.

Boston had my favorite show of the night. The props were used incredibly well; the white whale and ocean visuals were great; this show had the most recognizable music. I loved the guard's uniforms. The story was well told, and the final scene of the destroyed boat was really well executed. Gorgeous solos during "On the Waterfront". Really enjoyed it, and I wish I could remember more specific things to call out.

Finally, Blue Devils. It was definitely a classic Blue Devils show in all the things that means: exquisitely crafted and executed to get the maximum score. Universally the music was well executed, the guard was well executed, the visuals were well executed. But the design choices were baffling. The music choices and arrangements were all over the place and disconnected moment to moment. Lots of scatter drill. Annoying extended French-language spoken word audio sample. Wayyyy too many props. Just visual chaos. I can't believe this is winning General Effect. All that said, the brass sounds incredible, and I'm glad at least one corps is still letting the trumpet squealers loose from time to time.

ANYWAY, in terms of the brass scoring, that's the caption I have the strongest opinions about; and as a horn player, I think I have some ability to judge it. And even though I'm a Crown simp, I have to say the judges got it right. Blue Devils had the best brass, followed by Boston, and then Crown.

Edited July 19, 2023 by skywhopper

[TOC]

1 hour ago, Sensioto said:

Competitive "dynasties" are not exclusive to DCI, too. In every sport, there is a standard, or "blue blood(s)," as some call them, that epitomize the activity and are consistently at the top. And shock and awe ensues when the mighty are finally toppled every few years. Think  Norway at the Winter Olympics, etc.  

"Hello, one moment please.  Hey Sensioto, there's this guy from Finland on line three."

[jwillis35]

3 hours ago, Chief Guns said:

I remember last year at some of the early season shows in NorCal, when Gold beat BDB/SCVC for the first time in corps history................yea good luck to someone trying to convince me that scores and placements don't matter. The Gold kids were jumping up and down, hugging, crying, high fives everywhere as they finally toppled the big dawgs of Open Class. Even the some of the Gold staff couldn't remain composed as hard as they tried. And that propelled them for the rest of the season as they knew they could compete and go head-to-head at the very top of OC. 

This year, I know for a fact Mandarins are gunning for a top 5-6 finish in Indy. Will they get it? That remains to be seen, but it's motivating them in a big way. 

 

You are correct. Scores do matter. In fact they matter is 2 ways. There is the competitive ranking sense and also the fact that judges are acknowleging the work, performance and design put into the show. Even if you're the type of person that is not completely into scores it is nice when your hard work shows in the form of the score. Even if you did not win but were close to a corps in your tier. It makes the members feel good to be competitive and in the ball game if you will. Other times it is nice to beat a rival or a corps you have rarely beat. Even if you don't beat them all the time those little victories can keep the members pushing and achieving all summer. So there is a positive to competition, scores, and rankings. It also keeps the designers and teaching staff honest as they have to listen to the judges and continally adjust, tweak, rewrite and improve the show they give to the members. 

[CAtenhut]

1 hour ago, wilme861 said:

I do agree this is a competitive activity. I’m a competitive person and when I marched, I definitely wanted to win (I mean who wants to lose come on). But I’m just saying that I think people forget that this isn’t JUST a competitive activity. It’s also an entertainment and educational one at the same time. You hear the kids out there called “performers” a lot more often than “competitors” and I personally just think that’s because all you can do is go out and perform your own show the best you can. Unlike most other activities that involve competition, you can’t directly impact the group you compete against. All you can do is score as high as you can and hope it’s enough to keep you above the other groups.

I completely agree though that the scores and placement can definitely fire up and motivate groups (I’ve definitely been one of those in this situation too) but that’s great for the here and now and can maybe make a great story years down the line. But I’ll ask this question, would you rather be in a 2nd place group after finals that isn’t well received by the fans and forgotten about at the end of the season or be in a 4th place group that is beloved by the fans and discussed in peoples list of favorite ever shows 10 years from now? 

I think the difference between 2nd and 4th is a silver medal vs a finalist medal, so I bet a lot of those kids would prefer the silver. I do agree being part of a show that is universally loved and on people's top 10 of all time would also be a special feeling, but that's even more subjective than our scoring system and even more out of the MMs control, so not sure how much that would be on their minds. 

[denverjohn]

8 hours ago, IllianaLancerContra said:

Troopers are within striking distance of Cavaliers.  

Not since 1975.

[jmc5682]

I love BD's show, but I counted 12 dropped pieces of equipment last night.  As a guard person it drove me crazy.  I then took into account there was some wind, but 12 drops is just not going to cut it!  I am sure the next time will be better.  I thought BD's previous performance was much better!  I am pretty sure BD is going to win it all this year, but I have really learned to love each drum corps for what they offer.  My biggest worry is the rising cost of doing drum corps.  If things keep going up, I fear this activity I love will no longer be financially viable.  I really want to enjoy all the drum corps I can while it still exists!

[Chief Guns]

7 minutes ago, jmc5682 said:

I love BD's show, but I counted 12 dropped pieces of equipment last night.  As a guard person it drove me crazy.  I then took into account there was some wind, but 12 drops is just not going to cut it!  I am sure the next time will be better.  I thought BD's previous performance was much better!  I am pretty sure BD is going to win it all this year, but I have really learned to love each drum corps for what they offer.  My biggest worry is the rising cost of doing drum corps.  If things keep going up, I fear this activity I love will no longer be financially viable.  I really want to enjoy all the drum corps I can while it still exists!

I saw BD live three times in SoCal earlier this month. I don't think the guard had 12 drops in the three shows combined. I think last night was an off night for them (remembering Ft Wayne show 2014 Felliniesque)

Fully expect BDs guard to bounce back in Tomball and San Antonio. 

[KVG_DC]

1 hour ago, Chief Guns said:

I saw BD live three times in SoCal earlier this month. I don't think the guard had 12 drops in the three shows combined. I think last night was an off night for them (remembering Ft Wayne show 2014 Felliniesque)

Fully expect BDs guard to bounce back in Tomball and San Antonio. 

But that makes two nights now we've been saying "huh off night" and referencing the Ft. Wayne show from 2014.  Uncharacteristic.

Yet...they mainain the score gap so :shrug:

[Chief Guns]

6 minutes ago, KVG_DC said:

But that makes two nights now we've been saying "huh off night" and referencing the Ft. Wayne show from 2014.  Uncharacteristic.

Yet...they mainain the score gap so :shrug:

I thought they had a really good run in Colorado as a full corps. I will admit Utah wasn't their best.